How to annoy the poo out of your cats....

You simply taunt them with feathered friends.

I put out bird feeders years ago and a bath just recently with the intention of helping out nature.

It ends up, I like it for myself…to watch nature.

Possibly, I am torturing my cats though…and I secretly like that part also!

“The reason cats climb is so that they can look down on almost every other animal - it's also the reason they hate birds.” ~K.C. Buffington

The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer. ~Paula Poundstone

Y is for….

YOUTUBE!!!

This has to be one of the biggest time suckers for my kids…and it can be for me also, if I let it.

Does anyone remember what we did before youtube?

I find myself looking up old songs from the 80’s like Duran Duran and my favorite Ant, Adam.

Or when I want a perfectly good giggle, I will look at this one here:

*sigh* I heart Chick Fil A.

Sometimes, I just have to look as far as my own video productions for a smile!

I occasionally put videos up of our kids for family members to look at…..

Lindsay’s first time trying the rope swing. Summer 2008. Success!!

Or Lo getting a nice hit off of one of the best pitchers in the state:

Success again.

YouTube comes in handy for the Grandma’s and Great Aunts that live too far to share all the good stuff with in person.

ahhh, I love you tube. But it must be used only for good and not evil.

Just like the rest of the internet!!!

See what some clever folks came up with for Y this week at:A-Z Mondays.

It's all about the moolah.

I drove past the dollar store the other day and saw a sign in the window that caught my eye. It said:

No $100 bills accepted.

Of course, this made me wonder: “what if I went in there and bought 100 items, would they NOT accept my 100 dollar bill?”

I was tempted to go get a 100 dollar bill and try this out, but really, I am not much of a fan of the dollar store.

Sure, I have shopped there before. My kids love it. My Mom and Aunt love it, but it leaves me always thinking the same thing when I am in there: “I bet I could purchase some of this stuff elsewhere for 99 cents, maybe even 98 cents….”

I loathe getting ripped off, don't you?

My burial plans, just in case you cared; a cute picture and TGIF!!!

Bartholomew the third has a feathered friend.

I hit a milestone yesterday.

Approx 8 days ago I was at 99,000. I did the math. That is approx 125 daily a lot of miles on the road and mucho gasso. I am proud to say that this weekend I will not be driving out of my little 4 mile safe zone.

Next week, different story.

BTW: I love my GMC!

I am saddened by the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Farrah seemed as though she had a beautiful heart, wanted to be here for her family and died way too soon. I recently watched the documentary "Farrahs Story" and bawled my eyes out through the entire show. I am a sissy like that. I loved her in the ‘Burning Bed.’ Remember that movie? She took revenge on her abusive husband!!! My heart goes out to her family today.

Michael to me, was a lost soul for most of his life. I don’t think he had a chance at a normal life. Or as my brother used to say: ‘Not a snowball’s chance in hell of being normal.”

I hope they are both at peace.

I have been thinking of death quite a bit lately too. Not sure why. I hope I am not next. But if I am, I am contemplating NOT going the route of cremation.

I have always been adamant about it, not wanting to take up land space. But I recently saw that you can have a ‘greener’ burial. In a green burial, they don’t use formaldehyde in your body, you are placed in a pine or wicker box and put into the ground with a naturally made head marker, that will eventually dissolve. (compost)

So, you can only visit my grave as long as you remember where the heck I am.

Goodness, most of us can’t remember where we parked our car, so good luck on this one… perhaps I won’t have many visitors after all. That is ok, as long as you think about me. daily.

The wicker box? This is a bit like hanging out in PIER ONE for all of eternity.

I will go with the pine please. As a matter of fact, we may have some scraps in the garage, Coach can just fashion a cute little box for me. (I can squeeze) No need to cut down an innocent tree for me.

Heck, there may be a nice spot next to the compost out back. Right next to my beloved cat Junior. Gosh I miss him.

Eventually I will turn into part of the earth…see, you just can’t get rid of me.

Happy Friday to everyone!

I wish for you time with your loved ones & that the ones you love can give you time.

Safe travels or safely at home.

Enjoy your weekend.

We have added to the menagerie!!!

Isn’t he the cutest topiary you have ever seen???? Well, he is kinda naked right now...

A lovely ‘thank you’ gift from our East Coast friends for our hosting of the BoxerFest 2009! They sent me a new boxer boy!

(well, I assumed it was a boy, I am not one to pry) This is how he looked prior to my ‘greening’ him up. Which means I pulled out some of the soaked moss and added a few creeping crawling plants. They will eventually creep over him and cover him completely. Of course, I will have to groom him on occasion too. I hope he does not get fleas or roll in poop!

Since Lo helped me put him together, I let her name him.

Meet Bartholomew the third. (don’t ask where one and two are)

He is pretty big. 31 inches tall. He is bigger than both Cocoa and Ozzie. Do you think I could get all 3 to stay still for a photo? NO. Well, Bart stayed still, the other two, not so much.

I found a nice home for him under one of our ornamental guava trees. He will get rain/sprinkler and some shade too…which is rare in our hot Florida yard.

My Friend Kelly thought he might help keep Ralph (the menacing squirrel) away from the bird feeders. But I have found that one or two ears of corn a week, keep Ralph pretty happy and he has not bothered the feeders or spread the word in the neighborhood. Yeah for happy Critters!!!

Thank you Kelly, Don, Connor, Zack and Sparky for our new boy!!!

He will be a great addition to our family! (a quiet one anyway!)

***Edit***

You can get these topiarys in many different breeds of animals. Kelly got this one from a company called Green Piece Wire Art. She ordered it with the moss already in it, but you can get just the frame too and stuff it yourself.

Bloggers are nice peeps.

A while back I posted a picture of Linds and her funny socks right HERE. Both of the girls have a thing for crazy socks and really have never been concerned about them matching either.

Debbie, a silly lady living waaaay over in Japan saw this and thought she needed to add to their collection!

She sent us a great little care package full of fun stuff.

Some funky toe socks, some homemade toothpick origami dolls (they are way cool) a set of Hello Kitty face masks (I love Hello Kitty) and with that swine flu around, we may look stylish and safe at the same time. She also included some Japanese good luck charms that I immediately put in my car!!!

Could you wear these socks? I could not, but the girls just ADORE THEM.

Thanks a bunch Debbie. You are so sweet and my girls have told everyone they know that they have a funny friend in Japan who appreciates funky socks too!

I won a gift from my Michigan friend Shelly (Shellmo) at Building A log Cabin. Shelly is an awesome photographer and fellow tree hugger. (tree huggers rock) She sent me this bookmark and a note card; they are just gorgeous. These are photos that she took in her YARD!!! I am a bit ashamed of my pictures of Ralph (the squirrel) and all my flippin’ mulch.

I just love the quote on the bookmark:

“The butterfly counts not months, but moments and has time enough.”

Isn’t that lovely?

It is nearly as wonderful as the bookmark LoLo made for me for Mother's Day. I think my girls will have quotes made after the silly stuff they say one day. :)

Thanks a bunch Shelly, I appreciate your thoughtfulness!

PS. I spoke with my cuz Chris last night on the phone, he is happy to be back in the good ol’ USA!

Some things/people never change…being in war for a year has not diminished his sense of humor or sarcasm one little bit. Yes, we are related….I missed him and his dry sense of humor bunches!

A hero comes home and other tid bits.

Yesterday was my Cousin Chris’s Birthday. Maybe he is reading this right now?

And if he is…then that means he is back from Afghanistan after serving his first tour of duty!!!

Yeah for Chris, back home in the safety of Fort Hood, TX!!!!

If he is not reading this, then there were some delays and he will be back in TX soon!!!!

We are hoping to visit with him sometime this summer, either in GA (his home state) or in Florida.

We love you Chris and are so proud of you…and breathing a large **sigh of thanks** for your safe return!!!

**When the girls were little they overheard someone refer to Chris as Chris B. (his last initial)

So, for a while the girls called him: Crispy. Oh, how I miss the days of mispronouncing words.

Happy Belated Crispy.


And for your viewing pleasure, a shot snapped by my nephew in the car this weekend....
(2 hours, 5 teenagers, 2 dogs and lil' ol me)

Cocoa wanted on my lap…but settled for some kisses instead.

I know about the no-texting rule while driving, is there one about kissing your pup?

The games, well, they did not go so great this weekend. Not going to say anymore than that. :)

On Fathers day, Coach being a wise man took each opportunity to relax.

Read: coffee in bed, tivo'd UFC fighting and general lounging.

We picked up his Dad and had a nice big breakfast in the morning.

Do you think they are related? They even dressed alike.

That just cracked me up. And possibly scared me a bit too. :0

I hope everyone had a nice weekend too. Happy Tuesday!!!

X is for…

X Ray.

Really, that is all I could come up with.

My Dentist insists on having new x rays of my chompers once a year.

I am sure this is to help pay for his airplane, boat and 2nd home.

But I go along with the x ray, I don’t want to infringe on his lifestyle.

Really, I love my dentist. But he is outrageously expensive. And I was not kidding about his plane, boat or 2nd home.

That is what you get when you spend your life with your hands inside other peoples mouths. I would insist on more stuff than he has…

The running joke at my dentist office when I am in for x rays is that my mouth is really small (hard to shove those cardboard x ray thingies into my petite pie-hole) but we never ever run out of stuff to talk about.

That picture above is not of me. I borrowed that x ray from: MySingaporeDentist.com (really)

If you want to see what others came of with for the letter X this week, hop on over to:A-Z mondays.

TGIF...I live in the land of wacky...and beautiful.

Well, the wacky part is so obvious.

Lindsay, my wee one…she had her dance show 2 Sunday’s ago. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!

We were so proud of her. She started out 5 years ago a timid little butterfly taking one dance class and dancing in one scene in the entire show, now she has blossomed into a dancing wonder performing in 6 dances in one afternoon…and she is so confident and smiling the whole time. That is my favorite part, seeing the joy in her face as she does something she loves. (She looks like me when I am cleaning, Organizing oh, nevermind)

Coach and I were beaming with pride.

I have the cutest girls in the world, don’t I? well, you might be partial to YOURS, but I am sure mine are right after yours…right? Right. And if you don’t have girls, they should be at the top of your list.

I do thank you all for your book recommendations. I have my list reading....I am hoping to make some headway this weekend on “Water for Elephants.” I might be a passenger and I can read and ride at the same time. YES, my talents are endless.

Even my kids notice this. Lo made me this bookmark for Mother’s day:

She is so proud of me…i is a gud reeder 2.

And onto the wacky part of my family. No, the bookmark was NOT wacky. That was sweet.

I am ALMOST embarrassed to show this. Almost.

This is the light switch in the bathroom in my Grandma’s House. Really.

The funny part of this? It has been there since…well, since Jesus was a small child.

I can’t remember it NOT being there. I must have been about 12 when they got it.

My Grandma, Grandpa and my Uncle all were bowlers. Well, my uncle still is. Grandma gave up her league when she was about 84. My Grandpa, bless his heart, had a heart attack at the bowling alley and did not survive...

I should write about how I grew up in a bowling alley…or for that matter all my time spent running around in a trailer park, and NO, I have not been on an episode of COPS. yet. There is still time though.

This wacky light switch cover has never been talked about as far as I know. It was never even brought up by my girls…IT JUST WAS THERE.

SO on Sunday, my Grandma saw me taking a picture of it…do you know what she called me?

You will never guess!

She called ME a PERVERT!

And this is in HER house.

yeah, Grandma, I am the pervert in the family.

Happy Friday everyone.

I wish for you a weekend full of happy family members, something to relax you (I’ll be reading or watching Lo play softball) and NO perverts in your presence.

If only fuel was made from silliness….

Then, I would be one rich woman!

I may be solely responsible for keeping the oil companies in business and Really, I do feel bad about this, but what is a girl to do? NUTTIN’

Grandma J, I don’t want to hear anything about my carbon footprint this week either….I already have the guilt for it… ;0

I had to drive up and across the state yesterday to fetch my LoLo and one of her teammates.

They were at a softball camp since Sunday. The campus is gorgeous..in the middle of a beautiful and quaint old town.

For a minute there I had visions of the coach and I selling our house and moving up there to run a local coffee/ice cream shop.

Ok, really , I thought we could buy a subway franchise, but that does not sound as appealing.

Nevermind.

Lo is the cute one in the grey shirt getting her certificate from the coaching staff.

She was fortunate to stay in a sorority house and get a feel for campus life…minus the school loans and partying.

Anyhoo…

It was a 9 hour round trip. My butt is hurting and I just know it is as flat as a pancake.

Why, oh WHY does Florida have to be such a looooonnnnngggg state????

In my next life, I want to live in a short/squat state that you can drive in a few hours and actually be in a DIFFERENT state..not the same flippin’ STATE!

Okie dokie, I told you before how 99 is MY favorite NUMBER….well, I hit a milestone yesterday:

I looked down and was gasping at my odometer…before I could get my camera out I hit the 01 spot. Dang. Now I have to wait till I get to 99,999 for it to be really cool. have I mentioned before that I am a dork?

I have never had a vehicle that I have driven since DAY ONE and had this many miles on it.

I keep petting her daily and talking very nice to her to keep her on the road…for we have more traveling to do this summer.

ALSO: my thermometer stating the temp outside also hit 99 degrees…could not reach my camera safely when this appeared, but believe me, I am so thankful for working a/c.

**Home sweet Home…I love this place**

Can a person survive on Gum alone?

 Great Grandma and Linds on Sunday.

We had a nice visit with my Grandma and Uncle on Sunday.

FYI: my butt is large. This is according to my 96 yr old Grandma who forced me to eat lots of food even after she told me this. Oh, and Lindsay’s top, could it be maternity wear? NO GRANDMA, she is 13! And 10 minutes into our visit, she told me how much she missed seeing Coach. I swear, sometimes she likes him better than ME!

I love this old woman, NON filtered mouth and all.

*****

We were driving in Coach’s pickup truck this weekend ‘cause he took the big Yukon to carry bodies. (softball bodies)

In his truck there is a little open console area at the top of the roof near the rear-view mirror. This is where we keep our gum. We are gum addicts. Ok, I suppose I am the gum addict here.

This little console is made so you can keep sunglasses in this spot, or a garage remote, possibly a small handgun or just gum. We I like gum.

well, the gum kept falling out. Really, I don’t drive erratic. It is just kept happening. really.

Linds was getting frustrated and said: “I wish this opening had a door on it, the stuff (gum) keeps falling out. What if someone wanted to carry their letter opener here, they could get stabbed in the eye while driving”   

I started laughing so hard and realized again how long till we were home. (and near a bathroom)

Then as she is chomping on some gum, totally trying to annoy me, she says:

“If I were a hobo, do you think I could survive on gum alone?”

I started cracking up. She then adds:

“What? gum is plentiful, it is under benches and tables everywhere”

She then proceeds to read the calorie/nutrient numbers…”there are 10 calories in sugar free gum…how many do we need each day to survive??”

SHE will have a one woman show one day…so hoping she makes a million bucks with her zany wit. 

Then…I will have ALL the gum I want at my disposal. Yes. Life will be good.

PS. I have never stuck gum anywhere that it did not belong. I am very adamant about gum going INTO the garbage. Who does that?

W is for….

Witch.

Yes Witch. NOT which.

As a child I only had a few fears.

1) UFO's. I feared aliens would come and take me away. Why yes, I did watch “Close encounters Of the Third Kind several times. I was never afraid of mashed potatoes though.

2) I was afraid Indians were going to come and kill me, with an arrow, and only through my back. I always slept on my back, to protect myself. Yes, we watched lots of westerns too.

3) Witches. I thought a witch was going to ‘get me.’ I don’t recall what she would do to me, but I did not want to find out!

I remember my first witch was the one in Snow white. Quite a mean lady…yes she was.

She was also a fruit pusher.

Wait, was she a witch? Or just dressed like one? Now, I am confused. Perhaps she was some old woman who worked the produce dept at Publix?

Then of course this green witch.

(I could be called a green witch too, if you don’t recycle that is!) She scared the living daylights out of me. Not to mention those flying monkeys in bellman outfits.

Not kidding, Lo is still fearful of watching the Wizard of Oz…possibly because of the Monkeys and their green leader?

A few years back, one ‘nothing to do Saturday’ the Coach and I were channel surfing…the movie Blair Witch Project was coming on.

We really did not mean to watch it. This is not our kind of flick. Really, we had NO interest in it at all. REALLY.

1 hr and 51 minutes later, I was terrified.

All kidding aside, for about a year, I was freaked out by taking the garbage out at night.

Yes, I am a total wussy.

I avoid scary movies. I find them the opposite of fun. Life is scary enough, why invite scary stuff in?

I remember reading about the women in history that were burned at the stake because *someone* thought that that they were a witch.

Really, this is such shame and a sad scenario.

You know that those women really were not witches. They just had PMS.

And I am going out on a limb and say that the *someone* was their husband. Maybe? yes?

I met a real witch one time. She was not pretty, nice or had any manners whatsoever.

She was also a pathological liar.

Her name was Debra and my Dad married her. Shortly after the wedding, he died.

Now that is one real witch. How can I get her burned at the stake?

Just kidding. I would never do something like that.

Not really kidding. I might be able to do it….

PMS who?

To see how some really clever people used the letter W, go to A-Z Mondays.

Photo borrowed from: The daily mail UK for Wizard of oz

Photo borrowed from: IZDnet.com for snow white

Photo borrowed from: ghost2ghost.org for blair witch.

Books; Check ‘em out!

That was some sort of commercial or Schoolhouse rock slogan from way back when…but no one can say the word BOOKS in our house without the Coach or I following up with ‘check ‘em out.’

Why yes, we are both dorks.

I am trying to get back into my reading…something I have neglected in the last year or so.

I started with one of my favorites:

 

This is my 2nd time reading this fabulous tale….if you have not read it, (and you are female) it is fantastic!!!!

The story is set in the beginning of the bible. All told by Dinah, one of Jacobs daughters. Dina was barely mentioned in the bible, but this piece of wonderfully written fiction takes you to prior to her birth to her death….and she has quite the story to tell. She was born to 4 Mothers, all with their own tales too.

Did you ever notice that most of the bible stories that we have learned are mostly about the Men’s tales? Well, this is the women's stories. Very captivating and interesting. I consider myself to be more of a spiritual person that a religious person (if that makes any sense) and I just love this book! 

Oh, and can you guess what the red tent is??? hmmmmm….the women go there when the new moon comes. For their, you know cycle , um monthly, um, yeah-that. For them, it is the only time of rest!!

I WANT A RED TENT TOO! Kidding. Well, if it has a/c and internet access…I will take one!

 

I checked out Water for Elephants this week and am hoping to start it today…so many

people have raved about it, I could not resist.

I barely know what it is about and Lo was asking me as we left the library…I said: ‘I don’t know really what it is about, but if it has anything to do with elephant/animal cruelty I will be so mad!’

Please tell me there were no animals injured in the making of this book. Unless it is a squirrel…. 

This story is slated to be a movie in the future.

Any ideas for my next great read? I love non-fiction, but apparently I am a fan of fiction too.

TGIF and Mending fences…

ahhhh Friday. I have no idea why Friday means anything to me…seriously my days are basically all the same…especially in the summer. But I suppose it is the thought that counts.

I will pretend that I have the weekend off. :)

We have had a fairly good week here at Casa Day By Day….no real injuries…oh, well there was this ONE incident right here:

Lets do a bit of math:

You add one 13 year old PLUS one newly refurbished golf cart and what do you get?

The above picture.

ugghhh. What is a parent to do? Scream? Yell? Holler? Beat? Shank? Juvenile hall? Disown?

Nah….That is how my Dad rolled. I am doing much better I have to say….

Although it would feel good to scream my head off at the time….that does you no good in the long run. The damage is done. I did slam a few doors and shot the look of ‘what the hey were you thinking?’…….

The prospect of not driving the golf cart for a long, long, long time, well that is punishment……and me reminding Linds how much the repair will cost and she will DO all the extra chores I ask with NO ‘face’ or whining at all….that will last a long, long, long time.

AND your entire family INCLUDING your 15 yr old Sister will never…ever let you live it down. I think this little incident will be brought up FOREVER, including the wedding montage video in about 12-16 years.

Not to mention we will all recall this again at the DMV in a few years too.....

I think since this happened LAST Saturday…she thought I was not going to blog about it. WRONG. :) I love you Linds.

******

Linds and I are heading across the East Coast again on Sunday to drop off the visiting dogs and since we are already over on that side of the state….we are going drive a bit farther south and visit my Grandma too. We have not seen her since Easter. (Coach and Lo are off on their goal to tour all the softball fields in Florida, I think they have just about hit them ALL by now.)

I called Grandma last night to let her know I would be coming and she had more complaints than usual: Her young friend (87) just had a stroke and is not doing good; Grandma’s bowels are not moving well; she has been confined to her wheelchair all of her waking hours, Florida Power & Light is robbing her, Her sinus'es are acting up (they have been acting up since I was born) etc…..

She told me: “Suzanne, don’t get old, whatever you do, don’t get old. It is NOT worth it. Really. avoid it.” She is 96. and I think she may be on to something….**my feet are killing me right now**

I hope she feels better when we get there on Sunday.

*****

Happy Friday ya’ll.

I hope your weekend is filled with those you love, NO pain, and non-crashed fences.

It is almost like living in the jungle…..

OKAY, A  LOT tamer. But, I can pretend…can’t I?

I have been battling a rabid and menacing squirrel.  And when I say battling, I mean I have been tapping the window getting him to leave the new bird feeder alone. Which he does for 3 seconds, cause I am all scary and stuff.  Cocoa is perplexed by this guy also. Last week all she wanted to have was a bird. Now, she has moved on to the squirrel.

Here are some funny pics from when she was trying to get  a bird. She chased it from the feeder up to one of these palm trees. She was standing at the tree and crying. It was too cute. Then she caught sight of the bird….well she THOUGHT she did.

These pics are with my old camera btw:   (and Ozzie is not dead, he is just rolling in the grass, he is a professional roller) 

Look closely:

That is a fake woodpecker. Which just confuses the heck out of the reaI ones. I know that it conflicts with my fake flamingo, but I am crazy like that.

Cocoa still thinks it is real. And she still wants IT!

 

So, later on I was outside after Cocoa chased the squirrel up the tree.

I was looking up and going to take a picture when the crazy rabid menacing cute squirrel jumped from one tree to the next. I thought for sure it was coming right at me and this is the picture I got, as I imagined him planting himself on my face and eating me…I could already see the 5 o’clock news feed: ‘Woman has face eaten off by rabid squirrel as her boxers JUST watch!’

I have great skills right?   This is the reason National Geographic never will keeps calling me.

Ok, here is the vermin. I shall name him Ralph. He eats like a pig and makes a huge mess.

 

Do squirrels ever eat humans?  I think Ralph my have it in him…not sure, but he looks like trouble, just look at that fluffy thorny tail and sweet horn like ears. 

I googled squirrel and was shocked, I mean SHOCKED to find this page: squirrel recipes. Seriously…..this is a few of them:

(please don’t click the links, ‘cause then I will be worried you are making squirrel for dinner, and I won’t be able to speak with you. ever again.)

Bacon Wrapped Squirrel

BBQ Squirrel

Bushytail With Autumn Apples

Cajun Squirrel

Camp Stew

Chicken Fried Squirrel

Chicken Surprise

Citrus Squirrel

Crockpot Fried Squirrel

Daddy's Squirrel Stew

Easy Squirrel BBQ

Flatwoods Squirrel Stew

Fried Squirrel With Mushroom Gravy

Mesquite Squirrel

After reading some of the recipe titles I had a flashback of the movie Forrest Gump: ‘Fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, baked shrimp, shrimp kabobs……” Good ol’  Bubba Blue.

Don’t you wonder just how many squirrels it would take to fill up a crock pot?

**scratching forehead in wonder**

I went to the garden center and bought Ralph some corn cobs. I put a few out and he took them away to his cave and dined on them.

I think this may work for our situation…he has not been messing with the feeders since….I just hope he does NOT post my address on his blog for all the other squirrels. The corn cobs can get pricey!

Our Visitors

We have all heard the term ‘LAP DOG.’

How about ‘HUG DOG?’

I was relaxing and enjoying my book (after a 5 hour road trip yesterday, hence the tired look on my face) And my new BFF joined me for some ‘closeness’

Zack and Sparky are spending the week with us while their family is on vacation. I told you about Sparky's story back here. He is a rescue boxer like our Ozzie, and he had a really sad beginning; left outside tied up 24/7 with no training or proper food/medical care. He has only had his new family for a few months and he has come a long way. HE is a really sweet boy, but with no focus at all…except when he is ready to cuddle. And by cuddle, I mean DOG HUG. The night before last as the girls and I were watching a movie, we had this scene above but with his NOSE in my neck. I felt every single inhale and exhale.

I told the coach, there was more heavy breathing in my ear/neck that night than I had ever had in my whole life. ( and no, he was not jealous)

But can you tell a boy that needs love and attention to get down? HECK NO!!! Plus it is the only time he stops moving…he is full of nervous energy still.

And this is the senior citizen Zack. He is 8 years old and SOOOO the alpha male.

He is quite large too…85lbs while the others are about 55-60.

I have to say that things are going very well with the four dogs…and it all peaceful and fun…..UNTIL the Coach gets home.

When he gets down on the floor for doggie love (which we all need daily)…they go berserk and are fighting for his affection. I told him: he only causes chaos.

My first boyfriend resembled a combo of Paul McCartney and John Cusack. Really.

But he had one big flaw…maybe, um, I think……

A young Paul McCartney and present day John Cusack.

He was my first official boyfriend.

I am so not counting Robert, H.E. or Alberto from Elementary school. (I have not changed names to protect the innocent, because, well I can’t make up names very well)

The year was 1983. A full 2 years before I met the Coach. (my permanent boyfriend)

Why this thought has come to me lately, I don’t know, but I have a big question for my first boyfriend:

ARE YOU GAY???? How about a little Gay? (like someone can be a little pregnant?)

Not that it really matters….Cause if anyone loves gay folks, it is ME.

I have thought of him from time to time. And not in that ‘longing to see you’ kind of way either…it was more of that: ‘I hope your life turned out good for you’ kind of way.

He was a really nice guy. Almost tooooo nice.

Remember when I was bragging complaining about my wonderful job working the ‘bar’ at ponderosa when I was 15? If you did not read that boring as heck intriguing story, it is HERE…and don’t mind the smell of chick peas, that will go away eventually. promise.

Well, I was working the floor of the Ponderosa and HE was working the kitchen. He was a cook. Actually he was the only head chef.

He was a few years older than me.

This was also a few years before I acquired my finely tuned “gaydar.”

Having a good gaydar is one of my finer points. That and organizing. jealous? sure.

These skills will take me places. (like the Container store)

The reasons I now think that he was gay at the time, and did not figure it out till later:

*He was always nice to me. always.

*He loved my clothes. (I was always a bit edgy and did not follow trends, he noticed and liked that)

*He drove a red firebird. (sounds non-gay, but see below)

*His favorite band was LoverBoy. It said so on his vanity plate.

*He did not kiss me until about our 16th date. And even then, he asked first!

*Some of our co-workers told me he might be gay.

*He always complimented my hair.

*He seemed to get tongue tied talking to me.

*Some of our co-workers told me he might be gay. (did I already stress this?)

*He took me to the fair and could not win a prize at the basketball throw to save my his life.

Consensus: do you think he was gay?

**note: I never inspired him to do this scene above, but then again, that movie did not come out until 1989….bummer for me**

I can’t even remember how/when we broke up.

But shortly after we broke up I started dating a tall blonde dishwasher from Jersey.

He was model gorgeous; but a total dog.

I realized early on that even Gay boyfriends can be sooo much better than bad ones!!!!

V is for….

Venice.

The one in Italy. Not to be confused with the one in Florida.

I hope you don’t have a full bladder…this may be the most pictures I have ever posted at one time!!! I don't know what came over me!!!!

June 2004

My first (and only) trip to Europe.

Coach won this trip for us, and it was glorious. Full of good food, fun people and fabulous tours and experiences.

The artistry of the homes and buildings here was just mesmerizing.

St. Marks Basilica and square and the Doges (Presidents) palace.

St. Marks basilica was originally built by the Venetian people as a government space. Today is is used as a place of worship for the Catholic residents and visitors. I could never take a picture that would grasp the detail and beauty in this place.

The bridge of Sigh’s….the bridge the prisoners must cross en route to jail. We actually went into a jail cell….I was freaking out ‘cause I just knew some old bad ghost was attaching itself to me!

You would never tell I was a tourist, would you? I was fascinated by everything! Payphones, Elevators, mailboxes and public Toilets! So much to see….

A funny ‘blonde moment’ to share(cause my life is FULL of them) …. as we were wandering the streets and I needed a public restroom…we finally found one, but you had to PAY to use it. Fine. IT was worth it cause when I walked in, it was clean. Pristine. I did my business and as I was opening up my stall door to leave I saw IT!!! A camera above me!!! I was being taped. agghhhh. I suppose it is there for security, but I just know that somewhere in the world someone was watching me pee. I just hope they paid big time for that little show. I hoped I could bring in some big bucks for commerce…..

Coach and I loved seeing this little street cat getting a drink from the running well pump, it almost reminds us of the cats that we have at home that we don’t like, but this cat was nice….

We saw this glass blower make a gorgeous vase…then we were asked to pay an arm AND a leg for it.

Yep, of course we bought one. who needs 2 arms and legs? PALEEEEESSE

We had such fantastic meals here…oh, we were in gastric heaven!!!

One evening the dinner special was fish. Coach asked the waitress what kind of fish was being served? The waitress looked at him, like he was a silly man and then answered: “you know, fish from the sea” as she was pointing to the water. Oh. THAT kind of fish. What came to him was a huge platter of lightly battered fried fish. About 10 different small fish and a few squid too. heads and all. I suppose what ever the fisherman caught in his net???

And of course Coach ate it all. :)

Look at all the stuff from the sea!

Oh, did you eat yet today????

I forget that fruit is a real treat in most places…we are so spoiled to have it growing all around…grapes and some cracked coconut.

The produce market.

Coaches favorite place was the sausage and cheese store….it still baffles me how that stuff can just sit out and not need refrigeration. I could not stay in there long…so stinky. And yes, we brought home sticks of sausage in our suitcase. ughhhh, sausage mixed with my undies, not a pretty smell sight.

I was still a soda drinker at the time and Loved when I got a small bottle of ‘coke light’ with my lunch. Their version of Diet Coke.

We did not take a gondola ride. I really had no interest in that…seemed like only tourists were doing it and I already showed everyone that I am a tourist. But, hey at least I left my fanny pack at home.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Venice, DO IT!!! You will not regret this once in a lifetime visit.

To see how others used the letter V this week visit A-Z Mondays

If you did not get enough of a Venice endorsement from me today, go visit KBL, she and her beloved went to Venice on their honeymoon a few years ago and promised a full review this week. If she hasn’t posted it though…it is because her heart is broken to bits, she just had to send off her furry boy Achilles this weekend who has been in ill health. He is a new member of the dogs of heaven group. Drop by and give her some love. She will appreciate it much….